Mustafi, the cab driver who took me to the Seven Bridges Hotel from the airport when I first arrived in Amsterdam, was scheduled to pick me up at 9:30am this morning to take me back to Schiphol. Breakfast would arrive at 9am, so I knew that I had to wake up early if I wanted to get my last run in before it was time to leave. When I woke up at 7:30am, the sun was already out, so I didn’t have any excuse. Wanting to take in the sights and sounds of the city one last time, I got ready [View Full Entry]

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Time has flown by. I can’t believe that it has been over a month since I started my leave of absence from work. The swelling on the top of my right foot has gone down, so I decided to go for my first run in almost two weeks. Since I have been so accustomed to the scorching hot and humid weather, Amsterdam has been a nice and welcomed change. When I left the hotel, the pavement was wet, but thankfully it was not raining. I plotted my route to Vondelpark, turned on my IPod, and was on my way. My [View Full Entry]

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The Seven Bridges Hotel has only 8 rooms and I stayed in the Garden Room on the bottom floor. The hotel provides free Wi-Fi access (which I have found to be very common in Europe) and breakfast is served at a pre-determined time every morning. Pierre, one of the owners, delivered my breakfast (which included a homemade croissant, a selection of breads, cheese, deli meat, freshly-squeezed OJ, tea, a banana and yogurt) at 9am each morning. I usually only eat a bowl of Special K cereal for breakfast, so it was definitely too much food, so early in the morning. The [View Full Entry]

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Wow! The Schiphol airport in Amsterdam was quite a bit larger and more crowded than I was expecting it to be. Unlike Vienna, I wasn’t able to book a taxi for a set fare, so I had to trust that my Amsterdam cab driver wouldn’t rip me off with the meter reading (which by the way is very common in Budapest). Based on an earlier email from the B&B owner, I knew what the going rate should be and I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at my hotel and the meter reading was a few Euro lower. The Seven [View Full Entry]

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Per Ulla’s recommendation, I took the 25-minute Metro ride to the Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens this morning. Formerly the summer residence of the Imperial Family, Schonbrunn reminded me of The Palace of Versailles in France. The audio-guided Imperial Tour took only an hour, and I was able to see the over-the-top opulence of the interior staterooms. It is crazy to think about how much money it cost to build and maintain this structure and its surrounding gardens back in the 18th century, let alone the maintenance costs today. The grounds are spread out and include multiple gardens, a g [View Full Entry]

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Let me tell you that it was not easy getting up at 5am in the morning to catch my cab to the airport. I changed my flight to the one scheduled at 7:30am, so that I would have more time in Vienna. Thankfully, my taxi ride to the airport in Prague was uneventful, however my luggage fiascos continued to take on a life of their own. My bags have not gotten any lighter, if anything they have probably gained some weight with the souvenir purchases I have made. When I arrived at the Czech Air ticket counter, I placed both wheeled [View Full Entry]

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During this, our last full day in Prague, Kim and I decided to go to Petrin Park and climb up the Observation Tower (a scaled-down version of the Eiffel Tower) to see the remarkable view of this impressive city. Armed with my new and oh-so-comfortable walking shoes, I followed the swarm of people through Old Town Square past Charles Bridge, and lost them all as we headed over Legii Bridge. The view of Prague Castle overlooking Charles Bridge was magnificent that afternoon. I cannot get over the charm of this city. It is so very easy to fall in love with [View Full Entry]

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I cannot get over the beauty of this city! Whenever I stroll along the cobble stone roads of Old Town Square, it feels a little like I’m on a movie set. We walked inside the baroque style Church of St. Nicholas, the original Old Town Parish Church, which is now the venue for various concerts in the summertime. During our second full day in Prague, Kim and I decided to tour around the Jewish Quarter area, which is literally a hop, skip, and a jump north from Old Town Square. We bought tickets to gain entry into the various synagogues and [View Full Entry]

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Everything you have ever heard about Prague is true. What a beautiful city! Kim and I scored with the hotel that we booked. We keep pinching ourselves because for the price, Hotel Savic is awesome (not to mention quite a few steps above the Hotel Csaszar in Budapest). The breakfast buffet spread was vast and included pastries, breads, eggs, bacon, cereal, fresh juices, teas, and coffee. Savic is steps away from Old Town Square which is truly the heart of the city. Historic buildings and cafes on all four sides of the square attract thousands of tourists to this area [View Full Entry]

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Last night, Kim and I decided that we weren’t going to set our alarms, and that we would leisurely take our time to get ready. Without an alarm, I woke up at 8am. I really wanted to go for my last run in Budapest, but the top of my right foot had been bothering me for a couple of days. I wore slippers for the past two days and walked over 10 miles on both flat and hilly terrain, so that may be the reason why ?. I broke down and decided that I must wear my tennis shoes today to [View Full Entry]

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